Switch to winter gas formula may ease prices

While gasoline prices have floted downward like a feather since reaching Katrina-related peaks in California two weeks ago, a regulatory change could help consumers even more:

Blends of gasoline normally used in winter should begin showing up at California gas stations any day now, a move that should increase supply and ease prices, a state official said Thursday.

A week after the switch was approved by the California Air Resources Board, other regulatory approvals have been lined up and the winter gas "should start flowing into the system in the next 24 to 48 hours," said Claudia Chandler, spokeswoman for the California Energy Commission.